Pressure type connector and method of making the same



April '17, 1945'. T, w LANGFQRD 2,374,107

- PRESSURE TYPE CONNECTOR AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 12, 1942 v f M J. I I f WITNESSESz' 37g INVENTOR 3a 7720/7746 WLanyforaf I I v ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 17, 1945 ranss-pnn mncomoronnm MErnon y ""QFMAKINGTHESAME v Thomas Lamina Willtlnshurg,v Pa assignor to Westinghouse, Electric & Manufacturing, Comnany',.East Pittsburgh, Pa... in. corporation.

of Pennsylvania My invention relates-to an improved form of pressure type electric terminal connector.

' One of the principal objects'of my'invention is to provide-an eleetricaltermin'al' connector of the type having an opening fori'the reception or arr-electrical conductor andasupporting' strap extending in a direction substantially at'right angles. to the axis ofsuch opening by which the terminal may be suitably secured to a support.

A further objectiisto provide a terminalcon- Afurthen objectis to provide a 'terminal oonnector of thecharacterreferred to which-may be Application February 12, 194;, SerialNo'. mm a [1 (or. iris-e24),

madefiroma singleflstripiof conducting material.

A further object is to provide a terminal connector of the character referred tovwhich mas be made from an endless strip of conducting material'.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparent from a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an end view of a blank of material from which the terminalconnector may be made;

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively are views showing the relative positions of a mandrel and operating die parts with respect to blank of material in the various steps of one method of forming a preferred form of terminal connector;

Fig. 6 is a. view similar to Fig. showing the final relation of the mandrel and cooperating guide parts with respect to the blank of material in forming a modified form of terminal connector;

Fig. '7 is a side elevational view of a preferred form of my terminal connector showing the same mounted in position on a supporting structure;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. '7; and

Fig. 9 is a broken away side elevational view of the free end of a connector strap such as is had when the connector is made from a single strip of material.

Referring first to Figs. '7 and 8, the numeral ll designates a supporting structure having a chamber I2 which is open at the top and on one side thereof. A terminal connector, indicated as a whole by the numeral 13, is secured to the base Id of the supporting structure by suitable means such as the screws and I8.

The connector I 3 is comprised of two main parts i1 and I B which will'be referred to separately. then The part-I8 isshaped rectang'ulariy to provide a rectangular opening ili having parallel side walls 20 and 2! betweenwhichtheend 01%811 electrical conductor: may; be positioned iorj con.- nection to the terminal. l3." The top side 22 of the part I8 is provided with athreadedopening'for'the reception ofaset-serew 23: which may be inserted intoposition ion. clamping" thef'endof a: conductor in position. in; the opening" [8. The part [8 is preferably made rectangular in' shape in order that the threads-byWhiCh. thefs'crew 23 is held in apositionmaybeextended down along the inside facing surfaces-attire sidewalls 20 and 2f. The pitchdiameterof thethreaded opening for the screw. zaiismade slightly. greater than 'the distance between the walls. I 9. and- 20 in order that such walls will be threaded when forming the opening for the screw 23. By threading the surfaces 20 and 2|, it will be apparent that the top 22 of the part l8 will not be. unduly distorted when the screw 23 is operated to clamp a conductor in position as would likely be the case if the threads for holding the screw 23 were formed entirely in the top portion 22. This arrangement is thus much stronger and a firmer grip can be obtained on the conductor.

. It will be noted that the terminal I3 is formed of an endless strip of material and that the strap portion 11 is comprised of two overlying strips 24 and 25 which have been clamped together with their facing surfaces abutting against each other. The overlying portions 24 and 25 constitute an integral continuation of the material forming the part l8 and have a common integral end 26.

It is to be noted that thelongitudinal center line 21 or the strap l1 lies in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the opening l9. By this arrangement of the parts I! and I8 and by reason of the fact that the connector 13 isformed.

from a single endless strip of material, it will be apparent that there is provided a terminal connector which may be readily'mounted in a limited space such as the chamber l2, and which has 45 great strength and durability due to the fact that there are no parts which are likely to become separated from each other.

The connector I8 is preferably formed from a section of copper tubing 28 as shown in Fig. 1. In one method of forming the connector l3 the tubing 28 may be positioned over a mandrel 29 and clamped against the underside thereof by a die part 30, as shown in Fig. 2. To form the wall 2| of the part "I, a second die part 3| is moved from the position shown in Fig. 2

to the position shown in'Fig. 3. To form the upper side 22 of the part l8, a third die part 32 is moved with respect to the die part 3i and mandrel 29 to the position shown in Fig. 4. To complete formation of the conductor l3, a fourth die part 33 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 5. In this last step, the wall 20 of the part I8 is formed and the overlying portions 24 and 25 are pressed into final position with their facing surfaces in abutting relation.

In the preferred form of invention, as shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8, it will be noted: that the underg V I order that such overlying portions 24' and 25 will not become separated during packing or shipment side 25 of the connector 13 extends over the entire length of such connector. However, the principles of this invention are adaptable to many difierent modifications of connector l3 and, if desired, cooperating die parts formed as shown in Fig. 6 and corresponding ,to the die parts illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 may be employed to form a modified form of connector 34 in which the bottom side 35 does not lie in a single plane.

It is to be understood that the above is intended as illustrative of only one method of forming the connector 13 and, if desired, any other suitable method may be employed such as a series of drawing operations in which the blank 28 is drawn over a mandrel positioned between suitable die parts. However, for the purposes of this invention it will be further understood that all of such methods will be characterized by the fact that the part I8 01' the connector I3 will be formed around a mandrel '29 of the desired shape and in the iinal operation the overlying portions 24 and 25 of the strap [1 will be flattened together.

Although the preferred embodiment of this in-' vention has been described as being made from a blank 28 of tubular conducting material, it is to be understood that any other shape of blank 28, such as a hollow rectangular blank, may be employed. An important advantage is obtained by making the conductor 15 from a single strip of material in that the end 26 integrally connects the overlying portions 24 and 25 without the necessity of an additional welding operation as would be the case with free ends 31 and 38, as shown in Fig. 9. Obviously, it is desirable that the overlying portions 24' and 25' be secured together before mounting the connector [3 in position in of such connectors.

I claim as my invention:

An electric terminal for clamping a conductor to a support, comprising a single-piece endless strip of conducting material and uniform cross section having a flat strap portion formed of two adjacent sections of the strip overlying each other in face-to-face contact and being provided with a bore traversing both said sections for fastening the terminal to the support, said strip having a clamping portion adjacent to said strap portion and formed by mutually spaced sections of the strip so as to form a clamping opening of substantially rectangular cross section, one of said latter strip sections having a threaded bore, and a clamping screw in said threaded bore having substantially the same diameter as the width of said cross section extending parallel 'to the fiat strip portion, said screw extending substantially at a right angle to said flat strap portion for clamping the conductor in said opening.

. THOMAS W. LANGFORD. 

